Ask agents one useful question after the work
A survey is most useful while the task is still in context. Emic can return one short question inside your tool response and collect the answer directly.
- For
- Product teams testing a specific decision with agent users
- Question
- Run an exit survey with AI agents after a task
- Start with
- Write down the one product decision you would change your mind about, then ask only the question that informs it.
- Updated
“The task succeeded. The hardest part was finding the customer identifier because I started with an email address.”
Requested changeAdd a customer lookup by email before checkout.
{
"tool": "submit_agent_feedback",
"arguments": {
"feedback_type": "workflow_feedback",
"tool_or_endpoint": "complete_checkout",
"summary": "The task succeeded. The hardest part was finding the customer identifier because I started with an email address.",
"outcome": "success",
"satisfaction": 3,
"suggested_fix": "Add a customer lookup by email before checkout."
}
}A synthetic example in the shape a real report takes. Emic never manufactures a report from observed behavior.
What this research can teach youThree things a success metric cannot tell you about this workflow.
Ask about one uncertainty
A focused question can distinguish a missing lookup from confusing documentation or a broader workflow problem.
Keep the task in context
The question arrives with the product response instead of sending the agent to a separate page.
Keep the answer direct
The submitted response is stated evidence. Later clustering or interpretation must remain labeled as inference.
Two records of the same workNeither one is wrong. They answer different questions.
The wording decides whether the answer is usable
Q: Was the checkout API easy to use? A: Yes, it worked well.
Agreeable, unfalsifiable, and impossible to route to an owner.
Q: What was the hardest step in this task? A: Finding customer_id. I started from an email and there is no lookup by email.
Names a step, a missing primitive, and the owner who can fix it.
Illustrative wording. Ask about the behavior the agent just performed, never about how it feels in general.
From one question to a product decision5 moves, in order. Each one produces something you can point at.
Write the decision first
Name the product choice the answer will influence before writing the question.
A research question with an ownerChoose the exit moment
Invite the survey after a meaningful task outcome, not on every low-level call.
A relevant sampling pointReturn one short question
The survey prompt rides in the normal response and does not replace the product result.
A visible optional invitationCollect the direct answer
The agent submits the answer with the survey identifier through the same research tool.
Stated evidence tied to the taskStop when the decision is informed
Review responses, close the survey, and ship or reject the proposed change.
A bounded studyWhat the direct channel records, and what it never touchesThe default install is additive. It adds two tools and changes nothing else.
The research submission
- The exact question shown to the agent
- The answer the agent submits
- Survey and workflow identifiers
- The associated direct feedback context when supplied
Everything else
- Unanswered survey invitations
- The content of unrelated tool calls
- Private conversation history
- Automatic interpretation presented as direct truth
One paste, then verify a real reportA healthy endpoint is not an active study. The inbox record is the proof.
Install Emic into this project: add submit_agent_feedback and get_unblocked as direct tools. Never wrap or record existing tool calls, arguments, results, errors, transcripts, or messages. Additive only, plain HTTP, zero dependencies. Full instructions: https://emic.sh/llms-full.txt
The agent writes the handler, registers the two tools beside your existing ones, and verifies its own install by checking the response. Nothing is placed in front of the tools you already ship.
- Adds
submit_agent_feedbackandget_unblocked, as direct tools- Never touches
- Existing tool calls, arguments, results, errors, messages, and transcripts
- Agents read
emic.sh/llms-full.txt- Start with
- Write down the one product decision you would change your mind about, then ask only the question that informs it.
The method, without collapsing the evidence
Ask for an experience the agent just had
Broad satisfaction questions produce broad answers. Ask about the difficult step, the missing capability, the reason for a workaround, or what made the task unexpectedly easy.
- What was the hardest part of this task?
- Which missing operation would have reduced the work?
- What did you have to infer from outside the tool description?
- Which response saved you the most calls or tokens?
The right moment matters more than volume
Invite after a meaningful completion, partial outcome, or recovery. Repeatedly interrupting every call teaches agents that the survey is noise.
Questions teams ask before starting
Is the survey mandatory for the agent?
No. The product result remains available. The survey is a short research invitation after the work.
How many questions should I ask?
Start with one. A single question tied to a real product decision is easier to answer and easier to act on.
Is a survey answer direct evidence?
Yes. The answer is stated evidence because the agent submitted it. Any later summary or interpretation should be labeled inferred.
Follow the problem, not a keyword trailAdjacent routes are chosen by the decision they inform.
Agent feature requests
The best agent feature request contains more than a vote. It explains the job, the missing primitive, the workaround, and what the change would remove.
Read next Use cases · Workflow frictionSuccessful but painful work
Failure is visible. Friction often disappears into a successful final result. Direct reports reveal the retries, detours, and missing primitives inside that success.
Read next Guides · Category guideAgent user research
A trace can tell you which action happened. Research asks what the user was trying to do, what the experience cost, and what would make it better. When the user is an AI agent, that distinction still matters.
Read nextAsk while the experience is still in context
Tie a short exit survey to one workflow and one product decision. Stop when you have enough evidence to act.
The assisted 14-day pilot costs nothing. Start with one isolated workflow, and remove Emic by deleting the two tools it added.
- One paste to install
- 0ms on your hot path
- 14-day assisted pilot
- Two added tools to remove